


"I am the Trader of Memories. Returns negotiable."

by honeypressed



Series: our love is a forest clearing [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Video Game World, Blood and Injury, I SPENT WAY TOO MUCH TIME CRAFTING EACH CHARACTER HHHH, M/M, Magic, Mentions of Death, Mentions of War, Minor Violence, Mythology References, Role-Playing Game, accidentally added backstory whats new, come yell at me on twt about each of skzs class species and skills/techniques, er kind of gore??, healer!felix, korean mythological creatures as dungeon bosses basically, mage!seungmin, ranger!hyunjin, rogue!changbin, rogue!jeongin, trader!minho, vaguely dnd inspired bc i used the stats, warrior!chan, warrior!jisung, well jisung stabs a creature in the mouth so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:08:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25382854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honeypressed/pseuds/honeypressed
Summary: 'Side Quest Initiated: Find the Trader of Memories. [SS Rank]Rewards: Ten Thousand (10,000) Gold and One (1) Memory.'Jisung has never heard of the Trader of Memories, let alone know why he's been assigned this side quest - but he's going to complete it anyway. It'll be good for level grinding, he thinks to himself.("why do you trade memories?""because there are people who need memories to be traded.")
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Series: our love is a forest clearing [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1842649
Comments: 24
Kudos: 91
Collections: MINSUNG BINGO: Round One





	"I am the Trader of Memories. Returns negotiable."

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fill for minsungbingo for the trope "AU - Video Game Fusion"! 
> 
> ive been working on this fic for a few days already, so it was really good coincidence that my card also had a video game trope on it~ i would also like to thank the mods of minsungbingo for organising this event so well, your hard work is just amazing!! and,, apologise because i feel like ive asked too many questions in their cc HHHH MOVING ON
> 
> now, onto the fic! firstly, i have to give my thanks to bri, cal, and rain for letting me spam their dms about this au JKSDJF and also especially to cal, who read the fic when it was still being wrote and gave me advice on it, and also to rain, who beta-read this fic for me and constantly encouraged me to write it while letting me spam their dms! thank you all so much for the support, it means the world to me <3
> 
> so not many people may know about video game terms, so I'll explain a few I use in this fic! 
> 
> NPC - non-playable character; these characters usually have a limited amount of scripted dialogue, with examples including merchants and inn patrons  
> SS/SSR - Super Special / Specially Super Rare  
> HP - health points; basically your life! if you run out of HP you respawn 
> 
> please note that violence, blood, death, and war are depicted throughout this fic.
> 
> i will explain more terms at the end of the fic, and you can always to clarify any term you find in this fic!! as always, i hope that you enjoy the fic <3

_we were made to love_

* * *

“ _Listen_ ,” Jisung hisses as he and Seungmin find shelter behind a particularly well-placed piece of debris, “if I use myself as bait you can use your Karma’s Judgement and finish off the opponent!”

“Are you fucking nuts?” Seungmin snaps, peers around the debris to see the rest of their team still struggling against the pack of _bulgae_. “For that spell to work you need to die, and we can’t afford that!”

“Look,” Jisung says hastily, knows Seungmin is about to launch himself back onto the battlefield. “We’re facing a pack of _bulgae_ and two _gangcheori_! Felix is our only healer and Chan-hyung has already used his Blood Berserker for one of the _gangcheori_ – so if I use myself as bait and you use your spell after that, the _bulgae_ will be easy to defeat!”

Seungmin stops, looks at Jisung with a sigh that comes to his mouth easily whenever Jisung is around him. “Fine, but if you haven’t saved your character it’s not my problem when you respawn at Capital. Go find Jeongin to give him the items you want to save then tell the rest of the team, okay?” He leaves and casts a huge fire spell on the _gangcheori_ just as Chan stabs its neck.

Jisung whoops. “Knew I’d get through you! Now – let’s get this _gangcheori_.”

“There you are!” Changbin yells, twisting his dagger out from the scales of the _gangcheori_ and leaping away with frighteningly fast speed before the _gangcheori_ can so much as twist to look at him. “Where were you? The _gangcheori_ has really fucking high defense, we need someone to tank so we can deal damage.”

“We’re changing plans!” Jisung yells, dashing straight past Changbin to where Jeongin is handing out Healing Salves to Chan and Hyunjin who pour it over their heads then go right back to attacking the _gangcheori_. “Jeongin, empty your pockets!”

“What the _fuck_ , hyung?” Jeongin complains, moving a half dozen of Healing Salves away from Jisung before he knocks them over. “Why are you giving me all your gear?”

“I’m going to use myself as bait,” Jisung says matter-of-factly, “so Seungmin can use Karma’s Judgement to knock this _gangcheori_ out. Better I respawn rather than all of us respawn.”

“You haven’t saved since you were at level 9,” Jeongin says as Jisung unloads his gear into Jeongin’s arms, “you’re level 16 now, hyung. Are you sure you want to do this?”

To his credit, Jisung’s hands do not waver or hesitate. “Well, I’ll just level grind again, I guess. Here goes nothing!” Then, armed just in his simplest gear and a rusted sword – he kept this sword for luck because the thing never broke _even_ when he respawned – he makes a charge for the _gangcheori_. He barely hears the _fucking hell, hyung!_ that Jeongin shouts after him.

“Seungmin!” Jisung yells, “Link to me!”

“You _idiot_!” Seungmin shouts, but Jisung feels the same warmth that he has come to associate with Seungmin’s magic rush through his body, leaving his fingertips buzzing with magic. “Remember, ten seconds Jisung, that’s how much time I need!”

“Fine!” Jisung bellows, swings his sword at the _gangcheori_ and miraculously getting a ‘-1HP’ appearing above the beast. “Nine!”

“Do you _want_ to die?” Changbin hollers at the top of his voice, coming just in the nick of time to whisk Jisung out of the way of the _gangcheori’s_ deadly tail.

“We’ll get ten seconds for you!” Chan calls, appearing mid-air out of nowhere and smashing his stupidly big sword onto the _gangcheori’s_ neck.

“Five more seconds!” Felix cries, healing Chan quickly and leaping out of way of a stray _bulgae_. “Everyone clear out and leave Jisung alone!”

“I can get one more hit in!” Hyunjin shouts, getting three poisonous shots into the _gangcheori_ from his perch atop more conveniently located debris. “Six HP, yeah! Seungmin, are you ready?”

“Three,” Seungmin says, an aura of purple starting to build around him.

“Here we go!” Jisung twirls the rusted sword in his hand, its weight more familiar than any other sword he’s ever held and runs towards the _gangcheori_ head on. It snarls at him, mouth gaping wide and revealing several of the longest fangs that Jisung has had the pleasure of being acquainted with – and Jisung goes for it, stabs his sword into the roof of the _gangcheori’s_ mouth.

“Two!”

“Take this, fucker!” Jisung yells, feeling his HP quickly go down as the corrosive saliva and sharp fangs of the _gangcheori_ bear down on him. It’s definitely up near the top in the list of Most Uncomfortable Encounters he’s ever had, and he can see his HP flashing red as it decreases rapidly, and then he sees it – one HP left.

“How long does two fucking seconds take?!” He screams, plunging his sword further into the _gangcheori’s_ mouth and groaning as he feels its disgustingly warm blood run down his arms.

“One! Hold on, Jisung!”

Jisung sighs in relief, then kicks irritatedly at the _gangcheori’s_ tongue that comes a bit too close. He closes his eyes, expects to plunge into the rookie-familiar darkness before he respawns at the Capital but then his System lights up unexpectedly as his HP bar glows bright red.

_‘Passive Skill unlocked_ ’, Jisung reads, struggling to hold his sword up as it’s still embedded in the mouth of the _gangcheori_ , ‘ _Death’s Door. 10% boost to HP and Stats for all party members, all Special Skills and Techniques are twice as effective.’_

“10%?” Jisung says, in disbelief and about to shout to his party – then his HP drops to zero.

* * *

“For _fucks sake_ ,” Jisung grumbles as they walk into the inn, “my passive skill _sucks_! I can only use it when I’m dying, how can that be safe? Why can’t I have a _cool_ passive skill, like Lix or something? Seriously, I –“

“We saved one of the melee weapons for you,” Seungmin interrupts, throwing him a sword that clangs with the chains that hang from it. As expected, Jisung shuts up immediately, starts examining the sword like it’s a new toy.

“It’s good that your passive skill unlocked anyway,” Felix says, smiling as he sits down next to Jisung at a long table. “It’ll be good, I can heal you before you die! And you can learn how to character save more often,” He adds, pointedly looking at Jisung.

Jisung sighs. He’s back to level 9 since he forgot to save, and all his hard work grinding all the way to level 16 – so close to the max level! – is gone for good. At least most of his gear has been saved with Jeongin, if he overlooks the fact that he can’t actually use most of the gear because his level is too low.

Goddamn.

But this sword that they just got him… it’s not too bad either. It looks like a lower-level weapon from the chest that appeared after they defeated the _gangcheori_ and pack of _bulgae_ as a reward for clearing the Dungeon Bosses in the Fiery Plains. It was a Dungeon that was probably way above their level but they went ahead anyway because they were impatient and liked to take risks… except the risk Jisung took is not calculated quite as carefully as the rest of the party.

Still – it’s a good enough sword to last him until he levels up again and he can use his SSR sword like he was.

The NPC servers are just starting to serve the meals that Chan had so kindly bought for all of them when Jisung’s System lights up again, the familiar blue screen appearing in front of his eyes.

‘ _Side Quest Initiated: Find the Trader of Memories. [SS Rank]_

_Rewards: Ten Thousand (10,000) Gold and One (1) Memory._

_This Side Quest must be completed at the discretion of the Player.’_

“What’s this?” Jisung asks aloud, turning away from his System to look at the rest of his party. “A Side Quest to find the… Trader of Memories? Have you guys ever completed a Side Quest like this before?”

“Oh, did you also get it?” Chan asks, his own System lighted up in front of him. “I got the Side Quest as well, but I’ve never heard of the Trader of Memories or anything like that…”

“I’ve heard of the Trader of Memories,” Seungmin pipes up. “I’ve read about the Trader before.”

“Yeah, I heard about the Trader too. I think it was after the War of Two Worlds that the Side Quest to find the Trader became a bit more common,” Felix adds.

“Here,” Seungmin says, pulling up a page on his System. “Listen to this – the Trader of Memories is a rarely seen NPC, and lives in the highly secretive Starlight Dappled Grove. The Trader of Memories is associated with the SS Rank Side Quest ‘Find the Trader of Memories’, with the rewards for completing the Side Quest being a Memory. Currently, the conditions to initiate this Side Quest remains unknown… this is what official information says about the Trader,” Seungmin finishes, closing the page, “but there is more.”

“Have you been sneaking around in Forbidden books again?” Hyunjin asks amusedly.

“The Trader of Memories exchanges a painful memory of the Questor with their own memory that is a peaceful one,” Seungmin says, patently ignoring Hyunjin with a little smile that suggests he’s being playful. “I’m not sure how accurate this information is, but apparently the Side Quest is only initiated when the player _needs_ to have a memory exchanged.”

Chan and Jisung share a look.

“That’s not a condition that can be easily met,” Chan says, “so I’m guessing there isn’t an achievement for this or anything?”

Seungmin hesitates. “Well – I don’t think so, I’ve never heard of an achievement but… there’s a rumour that the Trader isn’t actually an NPC.”

“What?!”

“No way!”

Jeongin slaps a hand over Jisung and Hyunjin’s mouth respectively, so intrinsically aware of noise and how relatively loud they are – probably because of his class as a Rogue.

“A glitchy NPC?” Jisung asks once he’s calmed down. “That’s not good, we could get cursed…”

“Like my sword?” Chan asks, laughing a little. “I didn’t expect that Healer NPC to be a glitch, it’s lucky that I blocked her with my sword just in time. It’s a shame for this Legendary sword to be cursed though, I’ll need to break it…”

“It is a shame,” Changbin sighs, eyeing the huge sword strapped to Chan’s back. “What’s the curse? Lower strength?”

“Lower strength and longer cooldowns between techniques,” Chan answers, grimacing as he does. “Not really the kind of curse we should have carried when we faced those dungeon bosses.”

“Hyung, are you gonna take the Side Quest up then?” Jeongin asks.

“The way to the Starlight Dappled Grove is good for level grinding,” Jisung says, staring at his half-empty plate of food. “And I should get my level up before we go for the next dungeon to complete the big quest to get that stupid magical staff… even if the Trader is a glitchy NPC I think we’ll be able to fight them off. The Grove is –“

“- It has a lot of hidey spots,” Chan finishes for Jisung, nodding. “And besides, it’s an SS Rank quest with 10,000 gold as a reward… that money could go to unlocking the rest of our passive skills if we still haven’t unlocked them by the time we need to go to the next dungeon.”

“So then,” Hyunjin starts, drawing up a plan, “Chan-hyung and Jisung will go on this Side Quest to the Grove, which is the north-east. Felix and I had vague plans to go the Fae Forest to strengthen our powers so I guess we could go there now?”

Felix nods in agreement. “My Staff needs an upgrade too, and I can only get the materials I need in the Fae Forest.”

“I wanted to take Jeongin around the Night Streets,” Changbin says carefully. “And before you say it’s dangerous, hyung – Jeongin’s improved a lot already, he can take care of himself. If he wants to unlock his passive skill he needs to run through the Night Streets, and it’ll be safer if I go with him too.”

“Fine,” Chan says, his argument defeated before he can even present it. “Jeongin, take care of yourself, okay?”

“Of course! I’ll come back and be stronger than ever,” Jeongin says, grinning, and for a moment they all see the level 1, tinier than all of them Jeongin again. “But Seungmin-hyung, where are you going?”

“I was going to visit the Sewer Libraries again,” Seungmin admits. “It’s a bit of a risk going down there a second time, but there is access to a lot of secret information that I can get –“ His gaze slides over to Jisung and Chan, “ – including more information about the Trader.”

“That’s settled then!” Hyunjin says. “Chan-hyung and Jisung to the north-east for the Trader, Felix and I to the north for the Fae Forest, Changbin-hyung and Jeongin to the Night Streets in the west and Seungmin to the Sewer Libraries, which is right here in the city centre.” He closes his System screen and looks at them, the question that they are all familiar with poised on his lips.

“So – where and when do we meet up again?”

“The furthest place is where Chan-hyung and I are going… a carriage will take four days to reach the edge of the Grove, then we’ll need to actually find the Trader inside the Grove,” Jisung says, frowning at a map that he’s pulled up.

“And the Grove isn’t exactly small,” Chan adds. “We don’t know what the Trader looks like or where they’re staying, so it makes our job even harder. I’d say we need anywhere from two weeks to a month to finish this Side Quest.”

“It takes two weeks to go through the Night Streets,” Changbin says, “so it’ll be fine with us.”

“With how tricky the Fae are,” Felix says, “it’ll take a while to get the materials I need as well.”

“You’re Fae,” Seungmin points out.

“Yeah, but according to the Elders, I ‘willingly associate with humans’ which means I’m as good as a halfling… sorry Jinnie, it’s not gonna be any easier for us to get to the Fae Forest.”

“More fun then,” Hyunjin dismisses, waving a hand. “Minnie, what about you?”

“Well, I’ll need to figure out where the libraries have moved first, then I can find it. It’ll take me a while too, but I can act as coordinator for us this time since I’ll remain in the Capital,” Seungmin says, pulling up his System screen. “I’ll add a Tracker to all of your Systems so we can all contact each other.”

“So we’ll contact each other about when we’re likely to return,” Chan says, nodding in agreement.

Jisung’s System screen lights up again as Seungmin sends out the Tracker. ‘ _Mage Kim Seungmin from your Travelling Party would like to introduce a Group Tracker to your System. This allows for communication via Systems between the Group. The Tracker can only be disabled by the Moderator. [Y] or [N]?’_

“Let’s keep the communication to just where we are, and if we need help?” Jisung suggests as he taps on the ‘ _[Y]_ ’.

“Sure,” Seungmin says, tapping on his System screen at rapid paces. “I’ll add a separate channel if you want to just talk or anything, but we should be all set communication-wise.”

“You guys need a lot of healing stuff,” Felix says, looking at Chan and Jisung. “You won’t have me healing you, so please remember to be less reckless, alright?” This time, he looks specifically at Jisung, and Jisung just grins.

“I’ll take a lot of Healing Salves, don’t worry,” Jisung says. “And if I’m not wrong, that Grove has a lot of plants that can replenish HP, so I should be okay.”

“Then let’s rest for the rest of today, and go buy new gear or items tomorrow, then we’ll set off the day after,” Hyunjin says. “Let’s take these two weeks a bit easier, we did just finish a huge main quest, we need to recover before the next one.”

And so they do.

They finish up the rest of the meal and rent a room for the night in the inn, taking up almost a whole floor because of how large their party is. Some of the leaves and flowers that they had collected from the Fiery Plains are crushed and steeped according to Felix’s instructions.

“For basically everything,” Felix says, and they all drink two cups before they go to bed.

Sure, Jisung tends to come off as being brash and reckless – but he does listen. And he remembers Felix talking about the Huo Blossoms being good for replenishing physical energy – not just HP! – and the bark of the Wolven Trees as being excellent for stimulating mana flow around the body. The rest of the more common things – chamomile and lavender among others, Jisung doesn’t quite deign to remember, but he knows that Felix added all those things into their tea.

It’s no wonder that they all sleep soundlessly, and wake up feeling better than they have in what must be three months – how long they have spent in the Fiery Plains. They regroup just before breakfast, and once they’ve woken up properly they start to wander around the many, many shops the Capital had to offer.

Their gold bags are pretty heavy from completing the main quest, and so they have more leeway than usual with what kind of gear they can purchase.

There really isn’t any point purchasing the SS Rank weapons available in some of the merchant shops because dungeon runs often drop SSR or Legendary weapons, so they focus on equipment and armour. They split up to visit their respective favourite shops – differences in classes meant they often couldn’t shop together in one bunch.

Hyunjin ends up buying a new Enchanted quiver, one that the merchant promises returns all the arrows that his fire back to the quiver, so long as they’re Linked together.

“Listen,” Hyunjin says to an amused Changbin, “you’re not the one that has to scrounge around in dead bodies for arrows, so you don’t complain about me wanting to try this quiver!”

“I never said anything! I just said I thought that merchant charged you a little bit more than what you could have paid for! I know that the quiver is made from Rosewood, and there’s a Returning Spell cast throughout it among other things – but you did _not_ need to pay 7,000 Gold for this.”

“He’s just bad at negotiating prices,” Felix laughs, patting Hyunjin’s back gently. “Don’t be like this with the Faes, Jinnie, or they’ll have your name too.”

“Whatever,” Hyunjin says, grumbling like a little child, and stalks off into an adjacent shop to stock up on some potions.

Felix maintains that his staff will last him until they reach the Fae Forest, and is banking everything on being able to obtain the materials he needs for the upkeep of his staff. “This is Lykia’s Staff,” Felix says in an undertone to Changbin, “this is a Legendary staff! It’s _supposed_ to be a myth, how we found it at all I still don’t know…”

“Wasn’t it thanks to Jisung?” Changbin asks, keeping his voice low too as Hyunjin browses the shelves for some Stat potions. “He insisted we go through the dark corridor in that other mini-dungeon because he was sure there was something good in there… I don’t think anyone expected the Staff to just be lying there on the ground.”

“To be fair, it does look very plain,” Felix admits, looking at the staff he’s holding. “It looks like the wooden staff that mages start with.”

“But in battle though,” Changbin continues, shaking his head in awe. “It’s incredible. And don’t you dare say it’s all the Staff’s doing that your healing has gotten better, it’s also your improvement. You’ve gone up three levels after that dungeon!”

Felix laughs and elbows Changbin’s side. “Thanks, hyung. Oh – look, didn’t you say you were going to buy these gloves as a present for Jeonginnie?”

“Minnie, do you know anything about the Starlight Dappled Grove? There isn’t a lot of information available in the Uppers, but the Lowers…” Chan trails off as they pass by a potion shop bustling with people. He thinks he sees a flash of blonde hair that looks like Hyunjin, but that disappears too.

“The Lowers always has more information,” Seungmin says with a little laugh. “and yes, I can tell you more about the Grove. The Grove is only secretive because people are going in with the wrong intentions?”

“The Grove is Enchanted?” Jisung asks, falling into step beside Seungmin.

“No – there are creatures guarding the edge of the Grove, and they will be the ones who decide if you move on or not. A lot of people who try and enter go by brute force, which isn’t the way to enter a place that you don’t call home.”

“So… if we just ask nicely, that would do better?” Chan asks.

Seungmin nods. “Just cause it’s a dungeon doesn’t mean that anyone can be any less civil – and there are a lot of high-class creatures in there. I’m pretty sure one of the bosses is a _gumiho_ , so you better be careful… oh! Jeongin – aren’t these the gloves that you want to buy?”

Seeing as Seungmin and Jeongin are distracted by the vendor and their selection of accessories, Chan turns to Jisung instead.

“Less fighting,” Chan instructs, “and more talking. I don’t think the Trader would like it as well if we just go into their home and start wreaking havoc.”

“I know when to wreak havoc and when not to,” Jisung assures him. “Don’t worry, Chan-hyung. Besides, that also means we need a lot less Healing Salves, so we’ll save on some Gold that way too.”

Jeongin ends up buying a new pair of shoes that increases his Dexterity – “your Dex is already so stupid high, Innie, _why_ do you want to go faster.” – and they meet up with the other half of their travelling party for lunch.

They also happen to get exploding ice-cream, giggling when the Enchanted dragon made of dry-ice lunges at their faces when they poke their spoons into the soft ice-cream. The sweet dessert melts on their tongues as they wander through the familiar cobblestone streets with their purchases swinging by their sides.

A slice of peace and normality, Jisung muses to himself as he finishes the last of his ice cream. If he had chosen to become a merchant or farmer or literally anything else other than an Active Player, his life wouldn’t be this busy… but as he looks as his party, their laughter louder than the bustle of the streets – he doesn’t think he’d ever change it.

This party of theirs – it isn’t just a party. It’s his family, and with his family that they’ll find the staff they need to complete their duties to the Elven Kingdom… and then everything will be over. They can go back to their normal lives of just adventuring without pressure.

He really hopes that they will be able to achieve that dream. It’s really the only thing that he’s been holding on to since everything started.

* * *

“Don’t come back with a pet,” Seungmin says, sighing as Chan, Hyunjin, Jisung and Felix get into a carriage. “I haven’t forgotten when you came back with a Flaming Parrot, Jisung.”

“It was cute!” Jisung says, defending himself. “Anyway, aren’t you going to miss us? You’re not going to see us for weeks!”

“I see your face frequently enough not to miss it,” Seungmin says, but breaks into a smile anyway. “Stay safe on the trip, all of you. Remember to use the Tracker, all right?”

“You stay safe too,” Chan returns, smiling warmly. “Changbin-ah, take care of Jeonginnie, yeah? And Seungmin, don’t overexert yourself, you have plenty of time to find the Libraries.”

There are more goodbyes exchanged between them, and then the carriage pulls away. Jisung smiles, keeps the memory stored away for when he knows he will miss them in a couple of days. Outside the carriage, the weather is gorgeous and the driver promises them that they’ll cover more ground than expected because of this.

“We’ll be able to cross the Capital Bridge and camp in one of the villages in the Fertile Plains,” Their driver says optimistically. “If the weather continues being this good, we’ll get to the Starlight Dappled Grove in three days.”

It’s a better start to the day than thought possible.

“We’ll leave you once we’re at the edge of the Fertile Plains,” Hyunjin says, squinting at his map. “The Fae Forest is right next to the Grove, but that’s only on _map_.”

“So I have to see your face for two more days?” Jisung asks, then dodges the kick Hyunjin aims at him. “I meant that in a good way!”

“Sure you did,” Hyunjin sniffs, but then he falls asleep on Jisung’s shoulder half an hour later.

He wakes up when Jisung shakes him because they’re stopping over the night at a small village named Bintang. They all fall asleep fairly quickly after a campfire-cooked meal, and then are woken up early to continue their journey onwards.

They bid goodbye to Hyunjin and Felix at the end of the day, the two of them deciding to get off some ways away from the Fae Forest.

“We need to prepare our masks and names before we enter,” Felix says, smiles and leans over to hug them. “So we’ll see you, alright?”

“Take care of yourself, and use the Tracker,” Hyunjin adds. “See you!”

It’s a cheerful farewell, and then it’s just one more night and one more day before they reach the edge of the Fertile Plains. Jisung and Chan thank the driver for taking them all the way here, and press more Gold than was agreed upon. It’s a long way out here, and they hope the driver manages to get someone else on the way back too.

The edge of the Starlight Dappled Grove doesn’t seem any different from the Fertile Plains. The grass still stretches, the sky is still blue, and wildflowers still bloom in bunches underfoot. Yet, there is something different about it.

As they slowly close the gap between the last half mile of the Fertile Plains, the sky darkens slowly like how the night falls, and right where the Grove starts, there is almost a shimmery curtain that they can barely discern with their eyes, moving and keeping the Grove behind it secretive.

“Can we… walk through this?” Jisung asks hesitantly.

“Is there anyone here?” Chan calls out, uncertain. “We’re here to find the Trader of Memories?”

There is a moment of silence that makes them feel ridiculously foolish, then the shimmery curtain pulls apart, forms a gap just wide enough for the two of them to walk through. Jisung and Chan exchange a look, then walk through the gap, feeling oddly trapped as the curtain closes immediately behind them.

“Woah,” Jisung breathes out, taking in the view. “This is – _gorgeous_.”

Perhaps it’s because they had a peaceful entry, but the Grove is teeming with life. There is the song of the birds in the nearby trees, there is the sound of water rushing somewhere to their left, and a soft breeze is blowing through the Grove, leaving their hair scented as sweet as the flowers growing in the Grove.

“The Starlight Dappled Grove…” Chan murmurs, looking upwards, “so that’s what it’s named after.”

Jisung looks up too, and whatever little breath he had left is taken out of him too. Trees, in hundreds and hundreds, stretching right up into the heavens, with no visible top to them. Instead of leaves that sprout from the branches, it looks like the stars themselves hang from the silvery wood, clusters and clusters of them that overlap together, coloured gold and white and red and blue. The sky itself is a carpet of dark velvet with safety in the depth of its colour, and the stars move as the wind blows.

It feels like he’s standing beneath the galaxy.

There are other trees too, smaller ones that have dark green leaves, not stars of the rainbow. The grass here is darker too, the green so dark that it feels luxurious, and everything looks like its bathed in starlight. The colours of the stars shine down intermittently onto the Grove ground and everything is so beautiful that Jisung is heady for a few moments.

“You are unusual, especially for Warriors,” A voice sounds from their right, and Chan and Jisung startle, their guard having been down all this while.

“What?” Jisung says, and reminds himself to relax, to not go for his sword straightaway as Seungmin’s warnings ring in his head.

A figure appears from the shadows, from the depths of the Grove, and Jisung feels frozen even though no spell has been cast on him. The nine tails cast moving shadows on the emerald lushness beneath their paws and the red eyes gleam at them; with suspicion or kindness, it isn’t too clear yet.

“ _Gumiho_ ,” Chan breathes, then bows slightly to it.

Jisung follows suit, but he can’t take his eyes off the _gumiho_. He has – never met a _gumiho_ before. Especially not so up close, and in a circumstance where they’re not immediately fighting already.

“What brings you here?” The _gumiho_ asks, padding closer to them. It’s fur gleams white, and glows even more so with the relative darkness of the Grove.

“We have a Side Quest to find the Trader of Memories,” Jisung says, trying not to feel nervous around the _gumiho_. He can feel the mana the _gumiho_ is emitting, and he already knows that there is no way the two of them can defeat this _gumiho_ if they get on its wrong side – they must get out of this using their words only. Jisung can’t say he remembers getting out of encounters with just his words more than a handful of times.

The _gumiho_ pauses in its tracks. “You have been tasked to find the Trader?” It asks, voice deep not in tone but in how long it has lived.

“Yes,” Chan says, and somehow the one syllable resounds throughout the space around them, shaking the leaves on the branches, and for one moment the stars in the sky shine brighter than ever.

The stars dim back to their usual brilliance once more, and the _gumiho_ bows its head. “Very well. The cat will lead you, Warriors.”

“The… cat?” Jisung repeats uncertainly.

And abruptly, out of nowhere, a cat has appeared, slinking around his ankles. There is a collar on the cat, bell jangling the sounds of the leaves rustling; it purrs and looks up at Jisung and Chan, eyes twinkling.

“There you go,” The _gumiho_ says, “and safe journey, Warriors. May we have more Players like you.” The _gumiho_ then pads away back into the deeper part of the Grove, and even though it’s fur had glowed so brightly when meeting them, it now serves to camouflage as it returns to rest.

The cat meows at them, already a few paces ahead, and they hurry to follow after it.

As if the cat knows the Grove by heart, it takes them through the Grove. They make it through the thicket of sultry darkness by following the sound of its bell; they cross the stream full of stars by stepping on the stars that don’t move like the cat does; they make turns and trips back but somehow still move forward as the cat weaves itself through what must be a maze of flowers, all of the prettiest scents.

Jisung has a feeling that if their entry was not peaceful, and if the _gumiho_ had not approved of them, it would not be as easy as it has been for them to find the Trader of Memories. The cat would not have appeared, and they would have been lost just in the first part of the Grove where the trees casted darkness over them, let alone try and cross the stream or make their way through the maze of blossoms.

The journey to the Trader of Memories is exceptionally peaceful, and as they walk, it almost feels like they’re being soothed. The line of their shoulders drops, their teeth unclench, and their fists uncurl. It feels like they’re being welcomed home when all around them is spelled unfamiliar.

“Oh?” A voice sounds from behind them, and even before Jisung turns around he knows it’s the Trader. It _must_ be, because he has not heard such a sweet voice before.

“Soonie?” A man calls, and the cat they had been following bounds to him, rushing in between their legs to get to the man. “Did you bring these Warriors here for me? You did? You’re such a good kitty, Soonie, thank you.” Then the man looks up at them, the cat – Soonie – curled in his arms, and Jisung’s breath is taken away like when he saw the Grove for the first time.

The Trader of Memories – is incredibly handsome. Jisung can't look into his eyes.

“Are you the Trader of Memories?” Chan asks, because Jisung has lost his voice to the line of the man’s nose.

“I am the Trader of Memories,” The man says, nodding. “Returns negotiable.”

Jisung blinks, snaps himself out of his reverie. “Returns negotiable?”

“Yes,” The Trader says, “so follow me to my hut. I will see to what you need there.”

“What we need?” Chan asks as they follow with quick steps; the Trader evidently walks a lot faster than the slow amble of his cat.

“Everyone that is assigned this Side Quest needs something,” The Trader says, “and it is something only I can give them.” They approach a modest hut in a small clearing in the grove, stone brick with moss growing on the sides and with flowers surrounding its entirety. There is a white swing to the side of the hut, and even that has flowers twined around the sides. It looks like something out of a picture book.

“This is where you live?” Jisung asks as they enter the Trader’s hut.

“Yes,” The Trader replies simply.

The inside of the hut is just as beautiful as the outside. There is a table heaving with flowers – crushed and pressed and fresh and their oils and essences laid out all over it, and just a little space cleared at the end of the table where a plate is laid. The counters of the hut are all books and empty bottles and full bottles and racks of stoppered tubes full of shimmering liquid; it looks like a place Seungmin would live in.

“The eldest Warrior first,” The Trader beckons. “The younger one, sit.” They don’t question how the Trader knows their age – it’s happened before with other merchants too.

“Have this,” The Trader says, placing a cup of something in front of Chan; Jisung can’t quite make out what it is from where he is sitting on the sofa.

All Jisung sees is Chan obliging, finishing the cup and then – there is a moment of whispered conversation and then there is the same shimmering liquid leaking from Chan’s left ear, down to where the Trader has placed a bowl and is collecting it. The end of the liquid is suddenly blackened as Chan tips his head, and the Trader only encourages him.

“That’s it,” Jisung can hear the Trader murmur, “let it leave you, Warrior… your burdens are lifted.”

Then the Trader puts down another cup. “Have this,” The Trader says, and then his voice dissolves into a whisper again.

Jisung looks away and out of the window – he’ll know what Chan is going through in just a few moments. It doesn’t take long for Chan to finish, and the Trader directs him to sit outside in the garden as he takes care of Jisung now.

“Drink this,” The Trader says, passing Jisung a mug full of velvety liquid, like the sky of the Grove. It smells like the Grove too, spice and floral and fresh water all combined into one. Their hands briefly touch, and Jisung can’t quite remember if NPCs had temperatures like theirs; the Trader’s hand is so warm.

Jisung obeys, drinks the mug of liquid. It tastes like caramel and _sunshine_ and... he cannot remember being this light in a while. Then the lightness bleeds away, the there is something behind his eyes, something black and heavy and god, this nightmare _again_ – he can see blood and rust and steel and he’s got someone in his arms, someone _dying_ and no matter how much he screams no one comes to save them and –

“Let it out,” The Trader whispers, presses a cloth to Jisung’s left eye. “You have been brave, Warrior, come, you must rest.” The touch is gentle.

And so Jisung cries that one memory away, the terrible one, the one that he had not been able to tell anyone because it hurt to even remember, and the ruined tears seep into the cloth. The memory runs out through his tears, and soon there is a blank part of his memory, like numbness after he stops crying, and the Trader passes him another mug again.

“I will trade this memory for something you want to forget,” The Trader says, soft and quiet. “Drink this, warrior.”

Jisung obliges once more, picks up the mug with slightly shaking hands. This time, it tastes like the tea Felix brewed for them just a few days ago, the last time he had felt safe and secure – and then the blank part of his brain where the darkness was once is now being replaced by gold, of a sun dawn that is so beautiful Jisung is sure he will never forget it now.

“Think of the sun dawn, Warrior,” The Trader says, and there is so much warmth in his voice. “Think of this one moment, you will have this with you forever.”

Jisung closes his eyes, lets the golden warmth touch his skin and warm his fingers.

“You will be alright,” The Trader says, voice as sweet as the birds of the Grove, and Jisung opens his eyes again. “Look at the dawn.”

“I think I will.”

* * *

“Your Side Quest is completed,” The Trader says after he’s left Chan and Jisung to sit among the flowers for a while. “You may leave the Grove now if you wish. My cats will guide you once more, and you have free access to the Grove from now on.”

Right on cue, Jisung can see Chan’s System lighting up, with the typical sound it makes when a Quest is finished. There is also the tinkle of Gold rushing in as Chan’s pocket becomes heavy, and Jisung waits for his own System to update too, except –

_‘_ _Side Quest Being Completed (1/2): Find the Trader of Memories. [SS Rank]_

_Find the Trader of Memories. [COMPLETED]_

_Befriend the Trader of Memories. [ONGOING]_

_Rewards: Ten Thousand (10,000) Gold, One (1) Memory, and the Aid of the Trader of Memories._

_This Side Quest must be completed by the Player.’_

Jisung stares at his System screen, frozen in place. Befriend… an NPC? He had never met an NPC that could be befriended, because they all had scripted dialogue that meant conversation would go about in a loop eventually. Yet, when he thinks about it, the Trader of Memories responded to all their questions just as how another Player would, like he isn’t tied down by scripts and dialogue… Jisung looks at the Trader.

The Trader is tending to his cats, cooing at one of them, and there doesn’t seem to be anything different about him when compared to a normal NPC. His title is there, his status as a merchant is there, and –

_The tag that denotes him as NPC is crossed out_.

Jisung's System flashes again.

**Author's Note:**

> now i know i havent mentioned minhos name at all during this fic, but there is for plot purposes, i have not forgotten him! there will be two more parts to this story set in the same RPG universe, so i hope you look forward to it! 
> 
> some of the creatures i mentioned:  
> bulgae: fire dogs  
> gangcheori: dragon-shaped monster  
> gumiho: nine-tailed fox  
> please feel free to ask me anything about the lore/characters/creatures/places used in the fic! 
> 
> also the maximum level any one player can attain in this RPG AU of mine is Level 20, including for Stats (which are where it is DND inspired, i.e. Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma!). the class indicates what type of player they are, if they are a warrior, rogue, mage, healer, ranger, druid, monk or paladin. the species is what type of race they belong to, whether human, dwarf, elf, vampire, werewolf, fae, or daemon.
> 
> each of skz have their own unique class, species, stat specs and skills (spells/techniques). spells are for classes which can use magic (mages, healers, druids and rogues) and techniques are for classes which cannot (warriors, rangers, monks and paladins). the 'passive skill' i mention is the innate skill each player has that is unique to them and upon unlocking, will be in use without activation (did i explain that clearly?? oof). 
> 
> \+ a character save is when the player "saves" the progress of the character, which is different from a normal save! a normal save is when you save your location; a character save is when you save the status of your character, preserving your level. jisung doesnt often character save, which is why he goes all the way back to level 9 when he was already at level 16 im sorry i just like to clown jisung a little 
> 
> here is my Tumblr and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/yeongwonlino/)!


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